Tag: wetlands

WFD 2025: Mass Fish Death in Lakes, Ponds in India
Fish, Fisheries, Fisherfolk

WFD 2025: Mass Fish Death in Lakes, Ponds in India

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(Feature Image: Dead fish being removed from Budha Sagar pond in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh in 1st week on Nov. 2025. Source)

This compilation documents over three dozen incidents of mass fish death that occurred in water bodies including lakes, ponds, tanks and Ramsar wetlands located in Urban and Rural areas across India so far in 2025. Interestingly, most of these incidents are reported just before or after south west monsoon. In urban water bodies sewage contamination, water stagnation, dumping of solid waste have become common reasons for sudden fish mortality. These incidents are quite frequent even in the historic lakes and religious ponds in many cities despite crores of rupees spent in their maintenance by local agencies which is mainly limited to their beatification.

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WFD 2025: Important Studies, Reports on Freshwater Fish Species, Habitats
Fish, Fisheries, Fisherfolk

WFD 2025: Important Studies, Reports on Freshwater Fish Species, Habitats

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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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World Fisheries Day 2025: Top 10 Positive Stories from India
Fish, Fisheries, Fisherfolk

World Fisheries Day 2025: Top 10 Positive Stories from India

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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 101125: Does the world still need the annual jamboree of COP, given its record?
Climate Change · DRP News Bulletin

DRP 101125: Does the world still need the annual jamboree of COP, given its record?

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(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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DRP 271025: Without reliable data, is there any hope for our Rivers?
Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 271025: Without reliable data, is there any hope for our Rivers?

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(Feature Image: Drain No. 2 carrying untreated effluents in Yamuna river in Panipat. March 30, 2025, SANDRP)

The following report this week about lack of reliable data on Rivers raises right questions, including if there is any hope for our rivers without such reliable data? The report however, misses the point that Central Water Commission, which works more like a lobby for large dams, has clearly no interest in sustaining, reviving or rejuvenating our works.

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DRP 201025: Indian Cities Drowning in Crisis of Governance
Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 201025: Indian Cities Drowning in Crisis of Governance

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(Feature Image: A flooded housing society in Bangaluru after heavy rainfalls in Sept. 2022)

The excellent opinion piece below by Soumya Sarkar clearly explains how absence of hydrological governance has been root cause for increasing incidents of urban flooding across the country. Indeed, the urban development in India is construction centric where resilience has become a postscript rather an inbuilt feature.

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DRP 131025: Pump Storage Hydro Projects facing increasing opposition
Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 131025: Pump Storage Hydro Projects facing increasing opposition

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(Feature Image: People raising objections against Sharavathi PSP at a Public Hearing in Shivamogga on Sept. 16)

It is interesting that this week there are reports about growing opposition to Pump Storage Hydro Projects across the country including in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh (proposed project near Bargi reservoir in Narmada Valley) besides similar opposition seen earlier in Maharashtra. This should wake up the authorities and realise that the assumption of such projects being socially and environmentally benign is totally wrong.

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DRP 061025: Dangers of expediting Hydro Projects in the Himalayas
Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 061025: Dangers of expediting Hydro Projects in the Himalayas

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(Feature Image: Drone image of the Teesta III dam in Sikkim, taken from Chungthang town looking downstream. Image by Praful Rao of Save the Hills.)

According to a report in the National Daily, the Centre has decided to hire outside experts on fixed contracts to evaluate designs of planned hydropower projects, a move aimed at speeding up construction of several dams in the pipeline, an official said on Oct 1. The Union Govt plans to expedite construction of a slew of hydroelectric projects, especially in Jammu & Kashmir and the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

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DRP 290925: Should Punjab & HP not have decisive say in Operations of Bhakra & Pong dams during Monsoon?
Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 290925: Should Punjab & HP not have decisive say in Operations of Bhakra & Pong dams during Monsoon?

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One of the key issues that comes up from the reports this week is regarding Punjab and Himachal Pradesh having greater say in operation of Bhakra and Pong dams during the monsoon. Particularly since when these dams are mismanaged as it happened once again during the SW Monsoon 2025, leading to the dams contributing to worsening the flood disaster in Punjab. The demand is legitimate, considering that these two states are the ones that will be positively or negatively affected when the Bhakra and Pong dams are properly or improperly operated during monsoon.

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DRP 220925: India urgently needs National Silt Policy, Prudent silt management
Dams, Rivers & People

DRP 220925: India urgently needs National Silt Policy, Prudent silt management

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(Feature Image: As the floodwaters recede, silt deposition has been observed in many parts of Mand area in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala.)

There are a number of stories this week and throughout the ongoing SW monsoon, where the key central figure is the same: Silt. This is true in case of reports about silting of dams, silting of rivers, illegal dumping of silt in rivers and dams, accumulated silt choking Punjab and Delhi rivers, and even a suggestion that what Indus Basin needs is silt management policy.

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