The recent amendment to the EIA Law of 2006, removes precaution and public hearing for Landfills and Waste-to-Energy incinerators.

Nirmala Gowda, Editor of Mapping Malnad, will speak on the amendment and its implications. Post event video can be found here

Chythenyen Kulasekaran is a senior researcher with the Centre for Financial Accountability will speak on Waste to Energy incinerators. Post event video can be found here

Event on understanding the environment impact of Sharavathi Pumped Storage. Organized by People for Environment (Parisarakagi Navu)

Akilesh Chipli spoke about the general aspects of Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project

Shanker Sharma, Power Analyst, discussed alternatives

Nirmala Gowda, Presented ‘Consequences of Sharavathi Pumped-Hydro Energy Storage Project in Sharavathi LTM  Sanctuary

Organized by Alliance for Conserving Freshwater Ecosystems.

For two days, 70+ people working on fresh water ecosystems gathered to learn from each other, challenge assumptions, and co-create a vision for freshwater conservation that is both ambitious and grounded in reality.

The Alliance organised participants around two main tracks—Collectives and Solutions—allowing participants to dive deep into the challenges and opportunities that define our work.

Mapping Malnad was part of the Solutions Track, engaging in discussions focused on identifying and sharing actionable solutions for freshwater ecosystem conservation.

The proposed Sharavathi Pumped Storage Energy Project (PSP) in Karnataka’s Western Ghats aims to generate 2,000 MW but is sited within pristine evergreen forests of the Sharavathi Lion-tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary. Under Wildlife Law the siting is illegal.

In this session, Nirmala Gowda and Shankar Sharma will critically examine the project’s disproportionate ecological fallout, its flawed cost–benefit rationale, the availability of less-damaging alternatives, and the failures of environmental governance surrounding it. They will reflect on whether projects like the Sharavathi PSP genuinely advance energy security, or instead compromise it by eroding biodiversity & weakening climate resilience.

Post event video can be found here

Smitha Bijjur, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Publicity & ICT) & Nirmala Gowda (Mapping Malnad) were invited as Chief Guests for the inauguration of the Centre for Social Action (CSA) at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bannerghatta Road Campus.

Smitha Bijjur presented a talk on the protected areas of Karnataka

Nirmala Gowda delivered a presentation titled “Our Pressing Problems and How to Address Them.”

Nirmala Gowda, Mapping Malnad

Sub: Are Power Projects Putting Western Ghats at Risk?

Knowledge Summit on Pumped Storage Projects in the Western Ghats

Over the last weekend of June, a select group of researchers, lawyers, campaigners, local communities, and civil society organizations came together in Shimoga for a two-day knowledge summit on Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) in the Western Ghats.

The summit covered a range of interlinked themes:

🔹 Environmental & social impacts of PSPs in the Western Ghats
🔹 Environmental governance & the Right to Information (RTI)
🔹 India’s energy scenario and alternatives to PSPs—with pros and cons
🔹 Cost-benefit analysis
🔹 Local experiences, community responses, and ground-level activism