Thoughts, stories and ideas.

Land Subsidence in Joshimath, Uttarakhand

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Hydropower, Challenges and Opportunities

Hydropower is a renewable source of energy (IEA, 2023). Hydroelectricity is generated by harnessing the movement of water from higher to lower elevations to generate electricity through turbines and generators in hydroelectric power plants (IPCC, 2010). By converting the kinetic energy of flowing water into electrical energy, hydropower contributes significantly

New Year 2026!!

Policy Brief: Knowledge-Based Community Training to Build Resilience and Combat Disaster Governance Ineffectiveness in Himalayan States of India

Abstract Despite being the world’s fourth-largest economy by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), India’s development story remains deeply uneven. Despite being the world’s fourth-largest economy by Gross Domestic Product, the ground reality for most Indian citizens, tells a different story. With a low Gross Domestic Product per capita,

Mountains at Risk: The Human Cost of GDP-Focused Development in the Himalayas

Himalayan states chase GDP growth while neglecting human development and ecological health of their ecosystems. Interviews with founders of local NGOs in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh as well show hydropower, deforestation, and infrastructure are driving biodiversity loss and rising disaster risk. Across India’s Himalayan states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh

A Royal Bengal Tiger's Struggle: Blinded by Conflict and Ignorance"

In November 2024, a heart-breaking incident unfolded in the Indian state of Assam, where a three-year-old Royal Bengal Tigress became the victim of a violent attack by local villagers. The tigress, who had been spotted in the area before, without incident and was deemed a gentle giant, had ventured into

Last Chance for the Orcas: Can Science Save the Southern Resident Killer Whale?

On cold misty mornings in the Pacific Northwest, the hauntingly beautiful calls of the Southern Resident Killer Whales ripple through the Salish Sea and Puget Sound. On 7th July 2025, a groundbreaking report by an Independent Science Panel on Southern Resident Killer Whales Recovery marked the first unified effort by

Rethinking Renewable Energy through a Systems Perspective

Renewable Energy is "infinite" only on a healthy and environmentally sound planet. Commentary The definition of renewable energy, as found in sources like the Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, describes it as energy derived from natural processes that are essentially inexhaustible — including sunlight, wind, flowing water, geothermal

What is Project for Glaciers, Mountains, Rivers, Biodiversity and Energy?

Hello!! My name is Diva Sinha and I am a current PhD researcher at SOAS, University of London. I started my PhD in 2024. My PhD project is titled ”From Glaciers to Gridlines: Hydropower, Land Subsidence, Biodiversity Loss, Deforestation and Social Displacement in Himalayan Valleys. Project for Glaciers, Mountains, Rivers

About the Project

Tentatively titled Project for Glaciers, Mountains, Rivers, Biodiversity and Energy , this website operates as a writing portfolio of Diva Sinha. She is a PhD student at SOAS, University of London. Through this website, she shares her research project online as well as her thoughts, findings and opinions on wider environmental,