Article | A silent betrayal

In a travesty of the Forest Rights Act set up to protect indigenous communities, members of the Lippa tribal village in Himachal Pradesh are being denied individual forest rights. Text by Manshi Asher Photographs by Sumit Mahar Himachal Pradesh, a State where two-thirds of the landscape is categorised as forest and 90 per cent of […]

Submission for the EAC’s on the draft report of Satluj river basin’s Cumulative Impact Assessment and Carrying Capacity Study

To The Chairperson Environmental Appraisal Committee Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change [IA-I Division] New Delhi Date: 24th January, 2019 Subject: Submission for the EAC’s upcoming discussion on the draft report of Satluj river basin’s Cumulative Impact Assessment and Carrying Capacity Study Respected Sir As the EAC schedules on discussing the draft report of […]

Press Note: 18 Aug 2019 | No hope for the homeless in Himachal

Even as the IMD issued the ‘red warning’ for Kangra for the weekend massive floods were triggered in the streams flowing from the Dhauladhar ranges owing to the heavy rains in the region. While many residents had the safety of their shelter, others were not so fortunate. Like the migrant workers who have made Himachal […]

The Hidden Cost of Hydropower : Environmental hazards and risks of tunneling, excavation and construction in Run of the River Hydropower Projects in Himachal Pradesh

A Summary Note Even as we are at the end of the fifth decade of celebrating the World Environment Day, globally the environmental crisis continues to worsen. One of the solutions to mitigate the climate crisis and green house gas emissions adopted by countries including India has been shifting to renewable energy sources like Hydropower. […]

प्रेस नोट 5 जून 2019: ‘संकट में पहाड़’: विश्व पर्यावरण दिवस पर मीडिया गोष्ठी का आयोजन

5 जून को विश्व पर्यावरण दिवस के उपलक्ष में शिमला प्रेस क्लब और हिमधरा प्रयावार्ण समूह ने मिल कर राजधानी में आधे दिन की मीडिया वर्कशॉप का आयोजन किया. वर्कशॉप में हिमालयी क्षेत्रों में पर्यावरणीय संकट पर गहराई में चर्चा हुयी जिसमें हिमधरा समूह की मांशी आशर और सुमित महर के साथ वरिष्ठ पत्रकार पी […]

Press Note: Industrial Pollution Killing Sirsa: Environment Group writes to NGT appointed River Rejuvenation Committee

Demands Community Participation in making and implementation of action plans for restoration; Moratorium on industrial expansion in Baddi The Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective, a Himachal based watch dog group has appealed to the River Rejuvenation Committee and the Special Environment Surveillance Task Force to urgently look into the issues facing the Sirsa River […]

Press Note: 29/12/2018 Tribals rally against bureaucratic roadblocking of Forest Rights Act in Kinnaur

Local leaders and activists call out the ignorance and apathy of administration, question apathy of the government Close to 1500 tribal people assembled and carried out a rally at Kinnaur’s district headquarter of Reckong Peo on the 29th of December to register their protest against the district administration for not implementing the Forest Rights Act […]

Press Note: 21Decmber 2018 Official members of District level Committee under FRA reject claims of tribals of Lippa Village

हिन्दी के लिये नीचे स्क्रोल करें Press Note: 21Decmber 2018 Official members of District level Committee under FRA reject claims of tribals of Lippa Village Doling out forest land to company but cannot grant tribals their rights, shows government priorities, Empty promise on FRA made in Vidhan Sabha: Lippa Forest Rights Committee   Barely few […]

Press Note: Study breaks myths of ‘big encroachers’ under FRA in tribal areas; Reveals that most claimants are marginal landholders

5th Dec 2018 हिंदी के लिए नीचे स्क्रॉल करें Press Note:  Study breaks myths of ‘big encroachers’ under FRA in tribal areas; Reveals that most claimants are marginal landholders Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective in collaboration with Zila Van Adhikar Samiti, Kinnaur, released its report titled, ‘Who Gains from the Forest Rights Act, 2006?’ […]

New Awakenings in the Trans-Himalaya

As threats to common properties magnify, as people’s traditional access to living systems is denied, the Forest Rights Act starts making its way into people’s lives, in the trans-himalayan valley of Spiti, to uphold the rights that have sustained residents here for centuries. On an overcast day, we stirred a conversation with few members of […]