she/her; max weber postdoctoral fellow @eui_law; socio-legal researcher, working on water, environment, climate change, rights of nature
India/Florence
Joined January 2019
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After completing my PhD at @NUS_Law last week, I have now joined the European University Institute as a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow. At @EUI_Law & @EUI_MWProgramme, I will continue my work on community-based env. & climate governance, rights of nature, & legal pluralism.
Kanika Jamwal retweeted
A New Low in Media
Received a call from a media house which is bringing out a special magazine edition on Environment Day featuring people working on sustainability.
I was offered a full-page profile space IF I PAID THEM Rs 2.5 lakh.
You can imagine what my reply was!
Grateful to @Indian_Rivers for including my editorial on the role of local communities in managing water in their compilation. For several years, many local communities have been quietly engaging in water self-governance. (1/3)
World Water Day 2026: Collective Groundwater Conservation Efforts in India sandrp.in/2026/03/22/wwd-202…
Yet, their stories remain untold and their efforts go unnoticed — both in literature & in practice. My doctoral research— which I will be completing soon— foregrounds some of these stories. (2/3)
⛰️Redefining the #Aravallis
The Aravallis cannot be fully understood or redefined through a doctrinal lens alone. Local communities, alongside other epistemic experts, must be meaningfully included in any exercise of redefining. Here’s why (1/4)—
⛰️ However, for the local communities that inhabit them, the Aravallis are far more than a geological feature. They are the basis of everyday survival; the hills hold their sacred forests (orans), grazing commons, and traditional water sources. (3/4)
Kanika Jamwal retweeted
A recent Supreme Court ruling allowing post facto environmental clearances risks hollowing out the precautionary principle, thereby undermining Indian environmental law, writes Kanika Jamwal downtoearth.org.in/environme…
🌳In this blog post, I underline a gap in the Supreme Court’s judgement in #Vanashakti, and explain why ex-post facto environmental clearances are ultra vires Indian environmental law.
🌿 Read here— tinyurl.com/2ye9smwv.
Preliminary observation on the judgment in the Great Indian Bustard case: The Court repeatedly underscores the importance of considering the impacts of climate change on non-human species like the Godawan. This will hopefully bolster the conversation on the rights of nature too.
Underground power lines, ban on new wind turbines: Supreme Court accepts measures to protect Great Indian Bustard
Read more: barandbench.com/news/undergr…
Why is the reversal of #Vanashakti vexed?
1.Ex-post facto clearances violate the precautionary principle.
2. Compensation/penalty may not suffice because effects of environmental harm may not manifest fully until years later. Detailed argument here: shorturl.at/a7p6Z
Kanika Jamwal retweeted
Will Rajasthan’s hardy desert berry survive the changing landscape? scroll.in/article/1086565/wi… via @scroll_in
🌳 Can vulnerable communities litigate climate change in the face of scientific uncertainty? I propose a litigation strategy— the Indian Supreme Court’s iteration of the precautionary principle.
📖 Read the open access chapter here: tinyurl.com/55s28fvr.
@SabinCenter
This is a long-awaited, landmark ruling, indeed. Ex-post facto clearances violate the precautionary principle - I explain how in my 2021 article in the @IndianLawReview. Can be accessed here: tinyurl.com/4bdjtk4z.
Axing legal loophole: Supreme Court prohibits retrospective environmental clearances — scraps government notifications
downtoearth.org.in/governanc…
A superb initiative by @thebetterindia, recognising inspiring efforts aimed at conserving biodiversity.
Would love to see a longer list which foregrounds the efforts of the many rural communities engaged in biodiversity conservation using their local knowledge systems.
India's rich biodiversity faces several threats, but these eight heroes are rising to the challenge. From otters in Goa to snow leopards in the Himalayas, they're champions for endangered species, dedicating their lives to protection and awareness.
#EndangeredWildlifeIndia #BiodiversityDay #IndiaWildlife #WildlifeConservation
With global climate change & the increasing severity of heatwaves, particularly in north-western india, we must also consider including heatwaves in the list of notified ‘disasters’ under NDMA.
पिछले कुछ वर्षों में देशभर में हीटवेव का संकट देखा जा रहा है। विशेषकर राजस्थान के पश्चिमी जिलों जैसलमेर, बाड़मेर, बीकानेर में प्रतिवर्ष तापमान 45 डिग्री सेल्सियस से भी पार चला जाता है। यह केवल क्षेत्रीय संकट नहीं रह गया है, इसका प्रभाव नेशनल लेवल पर भी देखा जा रहा है।
जब तापमान चरम पर होता है, तो सरकारें तात्कालिक कदम उठाकर कुछ राहत देने की कोशिश करती हैं, लेकिन यह दीर्घकालिक समाधान नहीं है। जलवायु परिवर्तन के चलते यह स्थिति आगे और विकराल होने वाली है। अब समय है कि हम अल्पकालिक उपायों की बजाय भविष्योन्मुखी सोच अपनाएं।
ऐसे में हमें तमिलनाडु राज्य से सीखने की आवश्यकता है, जिसने हीटवेव मैनेजमेंट को प्राथमिकता दी है। तमिलनाडु ने न सिर्फ चेतावनी प्रणाली और स्वास्थ्य तैयारी पर बल दिया, बल्कि सामुदायिक भागीदारी और नगरीय नियोजन में भी बड़े बदलाव किए हैं।
हीटवेव से जनसामान्य की कार्यक्षमता, पशुधन और खेती पर नकारात्मक प्रभाव पड़ता है। इस दौरान ग्रामीण जन, गिग वर्कर, निर्माण श्रमिक और रेहड़ी पटरी वाले मजदूर सबसे अधिक जोखिम में होते हैं।
इस संदर्भ में भारत सरकार को "नेशनल हीटवेव पॉलिसी" लाने पर विचार करना चाहिए। जिसमें मजबूत चेतावनी प्रणाली, जागरूकता अभियान, नगरीय नियोजन में पौधारोपण और जल स्रोतों को प्राथमिकता, पेयजल की उपलब्धता, वर्किंग ऑवर्स में लचीलापन और स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं की पूर्व में तैयारी हो।
देशभर में हीटवेव से प्रभावित होने वाले राज्यों में राजस्थान प्रमुख है, ऐसे में राजस्थान को तमिलनाडु मॉडल को अपनाते हुए "स्टेट हीटवेव फ्रेमवर्क" लाना चाहिए। हीटवेव वर्ष में एक या दो माह की समस्या नहीं है बल्कि जलवायु संकट का स्पष्ट संकेत है। इससे निपटने के लिए वैज्ञानिक सोच व दूरगामी नीति ही एकमात्र विकल्प है।
@byadavbjp @RajCMO @Sanjay4India1
newindianexpress.com/opinion…
Only just climate action — one that considers the interest of non-human environment. 🐦
#HappyMothersDay2025
Great Indian Bustard with chick, may the tribe flourish and prosper always. Photo taken from community owned landscape. #GIB
PC - Radheshyam Bishnoi
@and_ecology
@IndiAves
@orientbirdclub
@BRStretch @BirdersStore @AsianWildlife @VinoBhojak @moefcc
