Climate Change – The Good Story Project

The story of the tree-hugging Adivasis of Hasdeo Arand

The Glasgow Climate Change Conference, held in October-November 2021, listed coal and deforestation as two of the most serious causes of climate change. A few months later, in March-April this year, the Chhattisgarh government gave its final assent to mining in two coal blocks in the Hasdeo Arand region in the state. The move would result in the death of more than 4.5 lakh trees and the displacement of thousands of Adivasis. It will also have an adverse impact on the rich biodiversity. These days, illiterate Adivasis, who can’t even spell coal mining, deforestation, displacement, or climate change, have been staging a silent protest against the outlandish decision taken by learned policymakers, bureaucrats, and politicians. We spoke to various stakeholders in the state to understand why this mining drama has been unfolding for more than a decade now and the significance of the present protests.

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Swati Subhedar

Adivasis of Chhattisgarh have a symbiotic relationship with the forests, which are spread across 44% of the state. They are a part of the culture and tradition of the natives, and many are dependent on these forests for livelihood.

A portion of these forests is grabbing the headlines these days. Extending over 17 lakh hectares and spread across three districts of Chhattisgarh – Korba, Surguja, and Surajpur — the Hasdeo Arand region is one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forests in central India. The forests in the region are an important corridor for the movement of elephants and tigers and are one of the most pristine sal and teak forests in the country. The presence of many recorded species — that includes 82 species of birds, endangered species of butterflies, and 167 types of flora, with 18 labelled as ‘threatened’ — makes the region extremely rich in biodiversity.

Coincidentally, Chhattisgarh is the largest coal-producing state, and the Hasdeo-Arand Coalfield is the third largest in terms of coal reserves (17%) in the country with an area of 1,879.8 sq km. Out of the total coal-bearing area, 1,502 sq km falls in the forest. The Ministry of Coal has identified a total of 23 coal blocks in the Hasdeo-Arand Coalfield.

The Adivasis started protesting in April this year after the central and subsequently the state government granted mining permission in two of the 23 coal blocks – Parsa and Parsa East Kente Basan (PEKB). It’s the PEKB conflict that has been going on for more than a decade.

In 2007, the government of India allotted the PEKB mine to the Rajasthan government’s power generation utility — Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUNL). In 2008, RRVUNL selected privately-run Adani Group to run the mine as a developer and operator, the first such contract in India.

If you wish to understand the timeline of this conflict, refer to the slideshow below.

The first phase of the PEKB mining was completed in March 2022 and as per the official figure, nearly 80,000 trees were chopped. Ironically, despite several cases pending in the High Court and the Supreme Court against mining in this area, the state government gave permission to RRVUNL for the second phase of mining in PEKB in March this year. Barely 10 days later, it also gave a green signal to mining in the Parsa block.

As per the estimates, mining in these two blocks combined would lead to the chopping of more than 4.5 lakh trees (two lakh in PEKB and 2.5 lakh in Parsa). It will also lead to the displacement of thousands of Adivasis and will have an adverse impact on biodiversity.

We spoke to various stakeholders in the state to understand why the conflict has dragged on for more than a decade, the significance of these protests, and what the future holds. Unfortunately, three of the important stakeholders – trees, birds, and animals – would never be able to narrate their side of the story.

**Adivasis in Chhattisgarh protesting against fake gram sabha consents obtained for giving clearances for coal mining. Image credit**: **Twitter**.

“Authorities bypassing Gram Sabhas has angered people”

The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had way back in 2010 declared 15% area in the country as a “no-go” area for coal mining. Hasdeo was a part of this list. The drama started unfolding. In December 2015, 20 villages in the Hasdeo Arand forests held Gram Sabhas to protest against their displacement as a result of coal mining. They argued that the proposed coal mining contravened their individual and community forest rights, under the Panchayats (Extension of Scheduled Areas) Act of 1996 (PESA), the Forest Rights Act of 2006 (FRA), and the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. These laws require informed consent from Gram Sabhas before any land acquisition can take place in scheduled areas like Hasdeo.

In 2016, for the first phase of mining in the PEKB block, the government gave its consent under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, which required a nod from the Gram Sabhas for land acquisition. However, because the Gram Sabhas have been protesting persistently, for the second phase of mining, the government bypassed the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and granted permission for mining under the Coal Bearing Act, 1957, in which consent of Gram Sabhas is not required at all.

“It is this bypassing of laws, Acts, and norms that has angered people this time. This is the primary reason why they are protesting,” said Sandip Patel, who is based in the state capital Raipur. He is associated with a non-profit Jan Adivasi Samajik Vikas Sanstha and is closely monitoring the present protests.

He informed that in October 2021, 350 Adivasis from Korba and Surguja districts walked 300 kms from Ambikapur in Surguja to the state capital Raipur to protest against the mining projects. Yet, a few months later, in March and April, the government gave permission for mining in two coal blocks.

On April 26, Adivasi women living in Janardanpur village in the Hasdeo region started a tree-hugging protest to prevent authorities from chopping trees. Since then, Adivasis have been protesting against the government decision in several villages.

India has proven coal reserves equivalent to 111.5 times its annual consumption. “Coal reserves in Hasdeo are just 10% of coal reserves found in the entire Chhattisgarh. This is why Adivasis feel that a biodiversity-rich region like Hasdeo should not be touched,” said Patel.

He added: “The MoEF, while declaring Hasdeo as a “no-go” region in 2010, had mentioned the biodiversity factor. The latest ICFRE-WII (Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education-Wildlife Institute of India) report, which came out in 2021, has elaborated in great detail about mining being a threat to biodiversity, yet the government went ahead.”

**As per the state government numbers, a total of 195 people were killed in elephant attacks and 43 elephants died between January 1, 2019, and December 2021. Image credit: orissapost.com**

Mining will lead to more human-elephant conflicts: ICFRE-WII report

Talking about the report, an expert based in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on the condition on anonymity, said: “It was decided in 2017 that a biodiversity assessment study will be conducted by the state government through ICFRE, Dehradun in consultation with WII for the Hasdeo-Arand Coalfield. The 277-page report highlights that over 80% of the Hasdeo Arand Coalfields and the landscape surrounding it is forested. It mentions that all coal blocks lie within the forest area and the PEKB coal block is rich in biodiversity.” He chose to remain anonymous as it’s a sensitive issue.

While elaborating on the findings of the WII-ICFRE report and the subsequent government nod, the expert said: “While issuing the clearance in October last year, the government referred to the ICFRE report, which had mentioned adverse impacts of mining in Hasdeo. However, it recommended that four coal blocks that are in the same vicinity can be considered for mining with environmental safeguards.”

On the contrary, the WII report had recommended that the entire Hasdeo area, except for the operational mines, be declared as a “no-go” area and that no fresh mines should be permitted. “It remains unclear why the recommendations of the ICFRE were taken into consideration, but those of the WII were not,” the expert added.

While the report talks about a variety of issues, it is important to highlight the issue of the human-elephant conflict in the region.

Chhattisgarh is among the states that are worst hit by the human-elephant conflict in the country, with more than 10 of its 28 districts affected. As per the state government numbers, a total of 195 people were killed in elephant attacks and 43 elephants died between January 1, 2019, and December 2021.

“The Hasdeo region is an important migratory corridor for elephants. Mining and deforestation will have an adverse impact on the routes that have been traditionally taken by these elephants and this may lead to more human-elephant conflicts,” said Nitin Singhvi, an environmentalist based in Chhattisgarh.

Below is an excerpt from the ICFRE-WII report that sheds light on the human-elephant conflict.

“… the situation of human-elephant conflict (HEC) in Chhattisgarh is a paradox with a relatively low number of elephants (less than 300, which is less than 1% of India’s wild elephant population) but higher number of incidents of HEC with over 60 humans succumbing to these conflicts every year (more that 15% of the reported human deaths due to HEC).”

In addition, the Hasdeo region is a bridge between the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh and Palamu Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand. As a result of this, there have been occasional sightings of tigers. Deforestation may affect the movement of tigers between Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand.

**In 2020, despite the lockdown, small forest produce worth more than ₹18.63 crore was purchased from forest-dwellers and villagers in the state. Image credit: Taran Prakash Sinha/Twitter**

Locals are dependent on these forests for livelihood: Report

On an average, a tribal family in the state earns Rs 1-1.5 lakh in a year from the collection and sale of minor forest produce like tendu patta, mahua and chironjee that they procure from the forests. In fact, in 2020, despite the lockdown, small forest produce worth more than ₹18.63 crore was purchased from forest-dwellers and villagers in the state. The ICFRE-WII report mentions that over 60-70% of the total annual income of local communities comes from forest-based resources.

“It’s the mahua season. Each Adivasi family must have collected 4-10 quintals of mahua. They will earn a decent amount after selling this. Similarly, they manage to earn a couple of thousands by selling other forest produce like tendu patta, chironjee and sal seeds. This is our life. This has been going on for decades and for generations. Now, suddenly if they will wipe out our forests where will we go? What will we do? asked Umeshwar Singh Armo, sarpanch, Batauli tehsil in Surguja district.

He added: “The minor and major forest produce that we collect and sell in markets across the country and are even exported. So not just us, all of you are staring at losses too if our forests are chopped off.”

Comparing these forests to bank accounts, Ramlal Kariyal, who lives in a village in Surguja, said: “Just like how your money remains safe in a bank account, we feel safe in the presence of these forests that keep giving us revenues all year long. We collect mahua in one season, tendu in the next, mushrooms in the third, and it continues.”

To understand the actual impact of mining-led deforestation on Adivasis, The Good Story Project got in touch with Alok Putul, a Chhattisgarh-based journalist and an author, who has been tracking the entire conflict. He has also visited some of the villages where the Adivasis have been protesting since April this year. He said: “Deforestation and encroachment of forests by the mining companies will severely impact the forest-dwelling communities in Chhattisgarh. They are dependent on these forests for livelihood. Previously, when their land was encroached upon by the mining companies, the Adivasis could no longer collect forest produce from the forests around them as they got displaced. As a result of this, they had to move to the forest areas inhabited by other Adivasis to collect tendu leaves or mahua. Further encroachment and deforestation will create an imbalance in the region and severely impact livelihood opportunities. The Adivasis have seen what happened last time, so they are protesting more fiercely now.”

**Adivasis says they will continue to protect their jal, jungle, zameen: Image credit: Twitter**

“We don’t want compensation, jobs, or new homes. We don’t want coal mining. That’s it”

Previously, when the land of Adivasis was acquired for mining, people had demanded employment and compensation as per India’s rehabilitation policy, and strict and full implementation of FRA and PESA. The compensation offered to them to vacate the land was on par with the market rate and in some cases more. Suddenly, the Adivasis a lot of money in their hands and bank accounts and they did not how to use or invest this money effectively.

“Adivasis are simple people with basic needs. They are dependent on forests for livelihood or are farmers. When they suddenly got a lot of money, to the tune of lakhs and crores, there was no one to guide them as to how to save or invest that money,” said Putul.

He added: “Some people opened small showrooms or bought shops in small towns but did not have the skills to run those, some simply spent that money on materialist things like cars and liquor. There were also instances wherein chit fund companies duped them by making them part with their money and fled and they were left with absolutely nothing.”

This time too, the government will offer them compensation, employment, and new homes, but Adivasis, who are now wiser after their past experiences want none of this. They simply want coal mining to stop.

“In all, 1,200 people in my tehsil are going to get displaced. We are not even asking for compensation or jobs. The government thinks offering jobs to some members of the family in lieu of their land is development. It’s not. This development is negligible when compared to the massive losses coal mining will bring to the region. There can never be any compensation for that,” said Armo.

Kariyal said in his tehsil three villages are going to get displaced, but this time people are not pressing for compensation or rehabilitation. They are channelizing all their energy to ensure mining stops. He added that anyway the Adivasis don’t prefer to live in the government accommodations given by the government.

“These are typical government residences built under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. It’s difficult for Adivasis to live in such small houses as they live in the forests in huge huts. They also have to accommodate their cattle. They are not used to confined spaces. If you visit the colonies that were built for displaced people last time, not a single person lives in any of the houses. They have all left and made alternate arrangements. Besides, just providing residences is not enough. What about their education and healthcare?” asked Patel.

**On the intervening night of April 26, some men came along with police personnel and mercilessly cut 300 trees. Image credit: Alok Shukla/Twitter**

“We will continue to fight to protect our jal, jungle, zameen’

“We are already seeing elephants entering our homes and our fields and damaging crops. They have started attacking and killing people. In the future, the state government will not be able to contain the conflict. What about the endangered plants, birds, animal species and butterflies? How much more damage are they going to cause? This time we will not bend. We will continue to protest to protect our jal, jungle, zameen,” said Kariyal.

On the intervening night of April 26, some men came along with police personnel and mercilessly cut 300 trees. The Adivasis are even more guarded now.

“Why isn’t the government understanding a simple thing. The Adivasis will not gain anything from the mines. But if we let the forests flourish, they will benefit the entire humankind in the long run. There are other mining areas in the country where there are no forests. Let them come to Hasdeo when all the coal in the country gets over. This time the government will have to listen,” said Armo.

(Cover image credit: Alok Shukla, Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan)

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Also read: “How will our schools in Chhattisgarh survive post pandemic?”

Also read: “We must find ways to show Adivasi ‘superfoods’ a way into our kitchens!”

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The ghost villages of Uttarakhand

People move their place of habitation because of social, political, or economic reasons. Often, natural disasters lead to sudden displacement of people. However, over the past few decades, large-scale human migration has been happening because of climate change. In India, a rise in extreme weather events like droughts, floods, heatwaves, and hailstorms is fuelling climate migration and it’s the poor who are forced to abandon their homes, land, and livelihoods. The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 puts India among the top 10 countries most affected by climate change. Today, on International Migrants Day, we kick-start a three-part series that will look at various aspects of climate change migration in the country. In the first part, we take you to Uttarakhand, home to several ghost villages, to understand why people, especially farmers, here have been migrating.

Swati Subhedar

On February 7, 2021, a disaster struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. A devastating flash flood ravaged through three valleys — Rishi Ganga, Dhauliganga, and Alaknanda. It swept away the unfinished Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Project and severely damaged the Rishi Ganga Hydropower Project.

The state administration requested a geotechnical team’s visit to the site of flash floods for assessment. The team’s finding concluded that the cause of flash floods was the collapse of a hanging glacier — 15 football fields long and five across — breaking off high in the mountains. A hanging glacier is a body of ice that breaks off abruptly.

In the Himalayas, about 10,000 glaciers are receding at a rate of 100 to 200 feet per decade as global temperatures rise. The glaciers in Uttarakhand are very sensitive and susceptible to climate change. Supra-glacial lakes are formed on the surface of glaciers when the snow melts, and the state has 809 such lakes. The Geological Survey of India has found 13 of the 486 glacial lakes in the state to be vulnerable. A glacial lake can breach and cause floods like the one in Chamoli due to avalanche or cloudburst, a major quake, or other geological factors.

A disturbing video of glacier melt in Chamoli.
Video credit: From the Twitter handle of journalist Shiv Aroor

More than 70 people lost their lives in the Chamoli flash flood tragedy and later the government declared 136 persons who were reported to be missing as “presumed dead” so that the affected families could get early compensation. The year 2021 has turned out to be the second-worst in terms of loss of lives in such calamities after 2013 when the Kedarnath flash floods had taken thousands of lives. According to data with the State Operation Emergency Center (SEOC), nearly 300 people died, 66 were reported missing and over 100 people sustained injuries in weather-related calamities this year that include events like flash floods, cloudbursts, avalanches, landslides, and mudflows.

A recent study, titled ‘Locked Houses, Fallow Lands: Climate Change and Migration in Uttarakhand, India’, conducted by the Germany-based Potsdam Institute for Climate Research (PIK) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) mentions that Uttarakhand’s annual average maximum temperature may increase by 1.6-1.9 degrees Celsius between 2021 and 2050. The study focuses on how climate change impacts — like rising temperatures, increasing glacial melt, and changing rainfall patterns — could affect livelihoods and thereby shape migration patterns in Uttarakhand.

The report identifies three main areas of action for policymakers — preparing for demographic changes resulting from migration, creating alternate livelihood options in the hill districts to revitalize the economy and revisiting the state’s climate change action plan as well as the state’s agricultural policies in the wake of out-migration from hill districts.

**Rescue workers looking for missing people at one of the hydropower projects after the Chamoli flash floods in February. Image credit: From the Twitter handle of Affinity Magazine**

Migration and the ghost villages of Uttarakhand

The state has 6,338 village panchayats and 16,500 villages. However, it’s common to find abandoned villages where no one lives. These villages are known as ghost villages. All one can find here are locked doors and hints of civilization that once existed. The eerie silence makes you wonder what must have led to families leaving lock, stock, and barrel, never to return.

As per the data revealed in 2018 by the Rural Development and Migration Commission set up by the state, the hill state has around 700 ghost villages and more than 3.83 lakh people have left their homes between 2007 and 2017. Most of the migration to the plains in Uttarakhand is of young people. The data shows that 29% are 25 or younger, 42% are between 26 and 35 and 29% are over 35 years.

A Right to Information (RTI) query filed by Hemant Gaunia, an activist based in the Nainital district, revealed in January this year that a total of 1.18 lakh people have migrated out of Uttarakhand permanently, while 3.83 lakh have migrated in search of work and better life but keep visiting their native places in the hills. It also mentions that people living in 3,946 villages have migrated ‘permanently’ which implies that these villages also fit the definition of ghost villages.

**Rakesh Juglal, Kalawati Devi, Anju Devi and Goli Devi … the last four residents of Bhel Dunga village. Image credit: From the Twitter handle of Tanmoy**.

These ghost villages can be commonly seen in the Pauri Garhwal district where 186 out of 298 villages have been totally or partially depopulated. For instance, Thalda village in the district once had around 52 houses and a population of 175. However, today, less than 30 families remain in the village and the population has shrunk to lower than 100. There are many villages where the population ranges from eight to 10, and in some places only two-three people are residing.

“I have been to some of these ghost villages. In most villages, all the families have migrated, never to return. In some villages, you can find 3-4 elderly people. It’s common to see locked houses, collapsing structures and farms full of weeds and shrubs,” said Robin Chauhan, a journalist based in Uttarakhand.

He added: “There are many reasons why people here have been migrating. The primary reasons are unemployment, lack of medical facilities and lack of schools and educational institutions. Some people returned during the lockdown, but a majority have gone back. Life is tough on the hills. People don’t want the next generation to suffer. They migrate so that their children have more avenues of earning money. The farmers, however, have been gradually migrating because of things that are beyond their control. Erratic rainfall, drying water bodies and lack of irrigation facilities have turned the land barren at an unprecedented rate.”

“**The farmers living in the hills have mountain-sized problems”.** **Image credit: Aanand Mani, a farmer**

Farmers, climate change and migration

“It’s for everyone to see that the climate is changing, and the Himalayas are melting. However, it’s the farmers who are getting impacted and are forced to migrate. If steps are not taken today to stop this large-scale migration, that day is not far when the government will have to give money to farmers to stay back and do farming,” said Aanand Mani, a farmer based in Bhimtal, a town in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. It is situated at an altitude of 1,370 meters above sea level. “My farm is in the foothill, yet it gets difficult. The farmers living in the hills have mountain-sized problems,” he added.

The PIK-TERI study mentions that climate change in the state will increasingly force farmers to abandon farming at high altitudes and move to the plains over the next 30 years. The state government’s action plan on climate change identified three ways climate change may impact agriculture — increased water stress, increased risk of floods and changes in crop yields. Other factors include changed crop season, shifting cultivation zones for certain crops, and drying up of perennial streams.

“The monsoon pattern has changed for sure. It rained so much in February this year. I have not seen so much rain in February in the past 15-20 years. Yes, our agriculture is monsoon fed, but so much rain damaged our rajma (kidney beans), tamatar (tomato), pahadi kheera (cucumber) and mooli (raddish) crop. We used to cultivate kathal (jackfruit) in March-April. Now, we are cultivating it in October-November,” said Anil Pandey, a farmer based in Nainital district. He has his own farm, but he is also into organic farming and is part of a network of 1,200 farmers who have switched to organic farming as it is economically more feasible.

He added: “We are still better placed. Those living in higher altitudes do step farming. Their farms are smaller in size, and the problems manifold. They usually grow potatoes and ginger but could never switch to cash crops. They eat what they grow, so they can’t rely on their farms for a living, and there is nothing else to do on the hills. Water scarcity is a big problem. The spring-fed rivers are drying because trees are being cut to make dams and roads. These rivers used to be a source of irrigation. Rainfall is not sufficient anymore, or it rains a lot. The extraction of groundwater through borewells has impacted the water table. Constant drilling of mountains for tourism is leading to landslides.”

While the previous generation of farmers is not willing to give up yet for emotional or sentimental reasons, the younger generation has made up their minds. “Ninety-eight per cent youngsters want to go out. Their parents are not stopping them. They have suffered enough. They don’t want their children to touch farming. Can you imagine how disastrous that is?” asked Mani, the Bhimtal-based farmer.

**Farmers in the hills eat what they grow, so they can’t rely on their farms for a living, and there is nothing else to do on the hills. Image credit: Aanand Mani**

As per Narendra Mehra, a farmer based in Haldwani, both central and state governments have launched various schemes for irrigation and are taking steps to contain migration, but the results are not visible. “There is so much corruption that the schemes that look so fancy on paper are not even reaching the beneficiaries. The officials distribute seeds very randomly. They themselves don’t know the crops and their production patterns. Wild boars and monkeys destroy our entire produce. The problems that I am listing are not even related to climate change. The government and the farmers have no control over the climate. But why can’t we focus on manmade problems and find solutions? What about compensation? The October rains ruined paddy worth Rs 100 crore in Udham Singh Nagar district. Last I heard a committee was formed to evaluate losses so that compensation could be given. If you are asking me if the government is taking any concrete steps to stop migration, the answer is no,” he said.

What farmer Mani from Bhimtal said about his brother shows how the problem of migration is altering the social fabric of the state. “My brother is 36. We have not been able to find a girl for him. Likewise, there are many youngsters in the state who are facing similar problems. They are earning well but marriage is still an issue. People from the hills who migrate elsewhere, work in hotels and earn Rs 2,000-3,000 and are all settled. That is the unfortunate truth. This could become a big problem in the state in the coming years,” said Mani.

(This is Part-1 of our three-part series on climate change and migration)

Also read: Ladakh is sitting on a ticking time bomb.

“It is tragic that people make elephants run like rats by throwing fireballs at them”

Between 2015 and 2019, 62 elephants were killed by trains in India and more than 1,700 people and more than 300 elephants died in encounters with each other. The human-elephant conflict is real, and, in most cases, humans are to be blamed for it. In the name of development and wanting more coal mines, factories, railway lines and wider highways, we have entered the homes of elephants and we blame them for coming out and destroying paddy fields and harming humans. In one of the chapters of her recently published book Wild and Wilful, Neha Sinha, conservation biologist and author, has documented many heart-breaking stories of elephants and their calves falling into mine pits, getting crushed under trains or sustaining burn injuries because of fireballs thrown at them. On this World Elephant Day, The Good Story Project co-founder Swati Subhedar interviews Neha Sinha to understand how deep-rooted the human-elephant conflict is and challenges of wildlife conservation.

In her book, which came out in February 2021, Sinha has documented stories of crisis involving iconic species found in India – the Indian leopard, the Asian elephant, the Bengal tiger, the great Indian bustard, the white-bellied heron, the amur falcon, the Ganges river dolphin, the king cobra, the tiger butterflies, the rhesus macaque monkeys, the rosy starlings and the magarmach – and how development has been and will continue to be a silent killer of these iconic species.

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The elephant is our national heritage animal, yet, today only about 27,000 wild elephants remain in India, as opposed to a million a decade ago. We have entered the homes of elephants in the name of development. How can we undo the damage already being done?

There is a lot of conflict between people and elephants in India. Other than the elephant conflict that happens in terms of people and elephants encountering each other and getting hurt, there is another kind of conflict. A lot of planning has been done in areas where elephants live and many mines, industries, factories, railway tracks and highways have come up in these areas which is detrimental to them. The elephants must walk to find food and water. But, with their habitat shrinking, they have to walk through and around the obstructions made in the name of development. This leads to disasters. Let me give you an example. In 2015, the elephants near Kaziranga in Assam encountered something novel – a wall meant for a township and a golf course. The wall was a part of the elephants’ walkway. For days, they made attempts to cross this barrier. Many photos emerged and in one of the pictures, a calf was seen trying to break the wall with his tiny head. The calf was later found dead next to the wall having suffered a haemorrhage.

In another instance, in 2019, villagers in Naxalbari in North Bengal tried to push off a herd of elephants from their paddy fields by throwing fireballs at them. Scared, the herd moved towards a railway line. The entire herd crossed the line, but a young calf could not as there was a steep incline. The calf scrambled down the slope and got hit by a train that came rushing towards it. His mother Ganga – an extremely loving and caring mother figure to the entire herd – died saving her child.

There have been many instances where elephants have sustained injuries or have died because of people chasing them with sticks or throwing firecrackers and fireballs at them to shoo them away. It’s tragic. The elephant is our national heritage animal, and we make them run like rats. They are very emotional animals. They have long memories, and they remember tragic incidents. They are also sharp enough to pass on this information to their young ones. The elephant chapter in the book is the longest one. It was difficult for me to write stories so full of tragedies.

**Ganga and her calf. Both were killed by a train in 2019. Image credit: Avijan Saha**

Last year, during the nationwide lockdown, there was outrage when an elephant died after consuming a cracker-filled pineapple. People could express their anger because the incident was reported. Many elephants die a silent death, and we don’t get to grieve for them. What should be done to keep the human-elephant conflict debate alive?

There was outrage because the elephant was also pregnant. We must understand that at any given point in time, a female elephant is either pregnant or is a caregiver. They have long pregnancies and because they are big animals, the young ones stay with their mothers for a few years. So, a female elephant dying is extremely tragic. It was terrible the way that pregnant elephant died after consuming the pineapple which was a bait bomb. People reacted the way they did was because everybody likes the idea of a mother and the mother being a caregiver.

People should understand that elephants are not trying to harm them. By entering their fields, all they are doing is trying to survive. They enter the fields because it’s easy nutrition for them and because their habitat has shrunk. There is no need to kill them or be so unkind to them. However, instead of merely saying that farmers should not harm them, we need to have a system in place. For any kind of conservation, we need political will as well as support from people. We need to take some hard decisions. To begin with, we cannot have more highways and coal mines in elephant areas.

**Author and conservation biologist Neha Sinha and her book**

Your book – Wild and Wilful – documents stories of conflicts involving some of the iconic species found in India and how they are on the verge of extinction. Tell us more about your book which you started writing during one of the gloomiest chapters of our lives – the pandemic-induced lockdown. How difficult was it to a write about wilderness while being confined to four walls of your home?

I did a lot of fieldwork for this book and started writing it in the end of 2019. I wanted to finish it by mid-2020 but the pandemic happened, and things became difficult. I wanted to visit many more places while writing this book, but that did not happen. I am a wildlife person and I need to be outside. It was tough writing this manuscript sitting at home!

This book is about the wild and I have been to deserts, mountains, rivers, woodlands, lakes and political capitals to bring you the stories of India’s wildest citizens, along with some remarkable people who share insights on, and their lives with, these animals. In the book I have written about the Indian Leopard, the Asian elephant, the Bengal tiger, the great Indian bustard, the white-bellied heron, the amur falcon, the Ganges river dolphin, the king cobra and the spectacled cobra, tiger butterflies, rhesus macaque monkeys, the rosy starlings and the magarmach or the Mugger crocodile. The book loosely follows the structure of Earth, Sky, Water and Heart. It is divided further into the places where the animals are found. Under ‘Earth’, we have political capitals, deserts, woodlands and forest, under ‘Sky’, we have birds and butterflies that spend days migrating between countries or states. Under ‘Water’, we have ponds and rivers. Under Heart, we have urban jungles, the places many of us live in.

**A leopard seen in a tea garden in North Bengal. Image credit: Avijan Saha**

Which chapter of your book is your favourite and why?

The elephant chapter is the closest to my heart as I felt very emotional while writing it. However, I also like the butterfly chapter. The butterflies are so whimsical and mysterious at the same time they are so beautiful and fragile. Their stories are so fascinating! For instance, the black and orange-coloured monarch butterflies, found in America, migrate not just over countries but continents! They start from Canada, avoiding the cold, and reach Mexico where they cover fir trees in millions. A single butterfly cannot complete this intercontinental journey. On the way southwards, the butterfly lays eggs, caterpillars emerge, and new butterflies are born. Hence, the butterflies that reach Mexico from Canada are third or fourth generation butterflies!

Which species mentioned in your book requires our immediate attention?

It would definitely be the great Indian bustard (GIB). There are about 100 remaining in India and that’s the entire global population. Over the years, their habitat has shrunk considerably. Earlier, they were found all over Central India, the Deccan Plateau, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. Now they and found only in Rajasthan and Gujarat. However, the solar and wind energy plants that have come up in the deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat are the latest threat to them. The plants are not a problem, the real problem are the wires that carry the power to energy grids. The GIBs never evolved to dodge these wires. They are the heaviest flying birds on earth, so they lack the speed and manoeuvrability that other birds have. The Supreme Court has directed the governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan to lay high voltage power lines underground in the habitats of the bird to aid in its conservation efforts. We should have implemented this yesterday. We cannot afford to lose more GIBs. In 2019, a centre was set up in Rajasthan. Here, birds are hatched from eggs, chicks are raised, and ultimately, they all are released back into the wild. This is a good first step.

**The Great Indian Bustard. Image credit: Dhritiman Mukherjee**

India had 1.2 million snakebite deaths from 2000 to 2019. Hence, there is a tendency to attack and kill snakes. However, there is also a section that worships snakes. We have a similar love-hate relationship with elephants and monkeys. Does this make their conservation difficult?

Yes, we do have a bipolar perspective on many animals. We kill cobras, but we also kill the rat snakes, that are not even poisonous. We worship elephants and keep them in temples, which is incorrect. They are wild animals, and it takes years of beating before they become the way they are seen in temples. All this is done in the name of culture. However, culture should be progressive and not stuck in a time capsule. Having said that, there are genuine problems and conservation cannot happen if we ignore these problems. There is a reason why people kill snakes. So instead of blaming them, there is a need to create awareness. Just like the covid vaccine is not an option, having an antidote (drug, chelating substance, or a chemical that neutralizes the effects of another drug or a poison) available in places which have snake bite is not an option. However, at many primary health centres, these antidotes are either expired or not available. These problems need to be solved and not pushed under the carpet.

**A King cobra. Imamge credit: Jignasu Dolia**

We love discussing politics, current affairs, cricket or our Olympic wins over chai, coffee and drinks. However, grave issues like climate change, environment-related issues, human-animal conflicts and wildlife conservation are topics that don’t come up for discussion frequently. What should be done to change this?

A report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently mentions that India may see more heatwaves, landslides, droughts, rainfall, cyclones and agricultural and ecological droughts. There has been an increase in extreme events like excessive rainfall in the Himalayas and frequent cyclones. We are going to suffer financial loss and loss of livelihood because of these extreme events. Climate change is going to affect all of us, and we must take it seriously. Henceforth, our development plans should not disregard climate change. We shouldn’t be blasting the mountains in the Himalayas to make roads. We are aware. Acceptance is not a problem, but lack of action is. We want to continue to function like we have been functioning. We are already experiencing climate change, but the government is pretending as if it does not know. We are still planning dams in the Himalayas even though every year people are dying because of floods and landslides. We need a greater citizen movement. Societal pressure will lead to the government acting. But for that to happen, people need to start talking and discussing.

**A mugger crocodile. Image credit: Neha Sinha**

How should we train our children so that they start taking issues like wildlife conservation and climate change seriously right from a young age?

This is a good time. There are a lot more eco clubs than there ever were before. People are using Apps to identify birds, plants and insects. People are reading a lot more and taking up conservation and wildlife as serious hobbies. As for the kids, they need to be taken outside. I can not stress this enough. It does not matter where — in the wilderness, deserts, forests, grasslands. Seeing is learning and nature is very interesting. Something is constantly happening. Our children need to touch the soil, they need to feel the texture of the leaves. If we get them to do this, half the battle is won.

**“Our children need to touch the soil, they need to feel the texture of the leaves”. Image credit: Swati Subhedar**

A million-dollar question. Can development and wildlife conservation go hand in hand?

Development is important. However, there has to be social and environmental conscience as well. If you are opening an industry that pollutes the water table, then find options for people living there and the wildlife. Don’t make things worse than they already are. There is lot of scope of sustainable development in India so we must start walking the talk now. We wanted to clean the Ganga and the Yamuna, but we have not managed to achieve that. The Ganga and Yamuna Action Plans are in place for years. We must act now. We must keep the eco-system intact. The more we disturb it, the more difficult life on earth is going to be.

Neha Sinha is an award-winning wildlife conservationist. She has studied biodiversity conservation at Oxford University, after winning an INLAKS scholarship, and works with the Bombay Natural History Society at present. She is also a noted columnist and has taught environmental politics at Delhi University. Wild animals are her favourite, followed closely by books.