Marking World Fisheries Day (WFD) 2025, we present some of important studies and reports highlighting the growing threats over freshwater fish species in India and across the globe. The multi-taxon global freshwater fauna assessment for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species published this year is among most concerning report revealing looming extinction threats over 24% of freshwater fauna worldwide. This includes the hump-backed mahseer, subterranean snakehead and peninsular hill trout found in rivers and waterbodies of Western Ghats.
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WFD 2025: Impacts of Dams on Inland Fish, Fisherfolks
On the Occasion of World Fisheries Day (WFD) 2025, SANDRP shares the top ten reports underlining the growing impacts of river obstruction projects on freshwater fish species and dependent fisherfolks in India. Indeed, damming free flowing rivers has become the single biggest reason behind growing extinction rate of aquatic life by severely disrupting their migration routes. The iconic hilsa and mahaseer fish in Ganga and Narmada have declined sharply due to construction of Farakka and Sardar Sarovar dams respectively, among others.
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World Fisheries Day 2025: Top 10 Positive Stories from India
Recognizing the fisherfolks’ valuable services to the society, the annual World Fisheries Day (WFD) will be celebrated on Nov. 21 with the theme “We have not caught anything, but at your word I will let down the nets”. On this occasion SANDRP compiles top 10 positive developments that took place during last one year regarding protection of inland fisherfolks’ rights and also protecting the habitats of freshwater fish species in India.
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DRP 171125: A Senior HC Lawyer speaks up about poor track record of Judiciary on Environmental issues
(Feature Image Source: Question of Cities)
In an interview (see below) to Question of Cities, Senior High Court Lawyer Gayatri Singh explains, giving examples from court cases, why she has a negative sense of the Judiciary and how courts are passing conflicting orders. She showed how slum dwellers were forced to live in polluted areas, detrimental to their health. She shows examples of how judiciary interprets environmental laws differently for the powerful sections and differently for the poor people and citizens.
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Himachal Pradesh: Sainj HEP Remains Out of Operation for over 4 months
(Feature Image: Outlet of Sainj HEP powerhouse tunnel buried under silt in last week of June 2025. Source: Hariram Chaudhary, Sainj)
The Sainj Hydroelectric Project (HEP) in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh has been out of operation for over the past four months. The 100 Mw project of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) is the fourth HEP which was severely affected by flash flood in Jiwa nullah on June 25, 2025.
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2025: Hydro Projects Accidents & Disasters in Himalaya
The accidents and disasters occurring particularly during monsoon months have affected several Hydro Electric Projects (HEP) both built and under construction in Himalayan states of India. In this overview, we put together information about such disasters to underline their increasing vulnerabilities to climatic disasters endangering the lives of workers and local people living in the vicinity of these projects.
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2025 South West Monsoon in Upper Yamuna Basin
(Feature Image: Screenshot of IMD River basin wise cumulative rainfall map dated 30.09.2025 showing the Yamuna basin)
This report presents monthly rainfall figures during South West (SW) monsoon season 2025 for 16 districts located in 4 states of Himachal Pradesh (3 districts), Uttarakhand (3 districts), Haryana (5 districts), Uttar Pradesh (5 districts) which forms parts of the upper Yamuna basin. The India Meteorological Département (IMD) has divided Delhi in 10 divisions which entirely comes in upper Yamuna basin and the report has rainfall figures for entire Delhi area.
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Bundelkhand: Overview of 2025 Monsoon
Bundelkhand is known as a drought prone region. It is comprised of 7 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 6 districts of Madhya Pradesh. The region is known as drought prone region in recent years. Let us see the situation of 2025 SW Monsoon rain in Bundelkhand.
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DRP 101125: Does the world still need the annual jamboree of COP, given its record?
(Feature image is from the New York Times)
The annual Conference of Parties (COP) on climate change begins its annual meeting in Brazil today. Consider the track record of the annual meetings so far, it is a valid question to ask, as the Question of Cities asks, Does the World still need this meeting with such a huge carbon footprint of its own? Is it a futile exercise now?
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High Rainfall days in India’s districts in SW Monsoon 2025
An analysis of the daily district wise rainfall data from India Meteorological Department (IMD) for India’s South West Monsoon 2025 (June-Sept rainfall was 937.2 mm, 8% above normal) shows that there were 2224 (2555 in 2024 SW Monsoon) instances when a district rainfall of a day was above 50 mm. Out of 738 districts of India, 510 districts or, about 69% of the districts experienced such high rainfall days during SW monsoon 2025.
Such high rainfall instances included 1920 instances when rainfall was 50-100 mm, 247 instances when it was 100-150 mm, 38 times it was 150-200 mm and 19 times above 200 mm.
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