The loss of biodiversity, the sixth mass extinction, high chances that you would have heard these terms. It's clear what pushed us into this situation - overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, the way we farm, climate change and more.

One big reason is that plants, animals and all other life forms on Earth that we collectively term as biodiversity are losing their natural spaces. Human activities have destroyed or degraded habitats such as forests, deserts, rivers, et cetera, making it hard for living organisms to survive.

But why are we talking about biodiversity loss in a podcast about renewable energy?

Shifting to clean energy is one of the world's solutions to climate change. So it's getting a massive push and investment. India has set up large-scale solar and wind farms in many states, and some are in the works. These projects stretch across acres of land equivalent to the size of a village or a town. To set up these projects and meet the country's net-zero emission goals, India needs an area almost equal to the size of Bihar.

From an energy developer's point of view, there are specific kinds of landscapes that could meet their needs and be selected for large clean energy projects. But when these landscapes are not understood well, and environmental safeguards towards them are weak or absent, renewables can go reckless. In this case, the local communities, the flora and the fauna pay the price.

In this episode, you'll hear about these unique landscapes, their non-human inhabitants and how solar and wind projects could decide their survival.

Listen to GigaWhat and explore some of the biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities in India's transition from fossil fuel to clean energy sources. Mongabay-India is an online publication dedicated to bringing you stories on science and the environment in India.

Read the full Clean energy series on our website

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Guests:

M.D. Madhusudhan, Senior Scientist and Co-founder, Nature Conservation Foundation

Sumit Dookia, wildlife biologist

Parth Jagani, farmer, project coordinator (ERDS)

Show notes:

Open Natural Ecosystems map Great Indian Bustard

Power lines and bird mortality (WII)

Tackling Biodiversity & Climate Crises Together and Their Combined Social Impacts

Credits:

Host: Mayank Aggarwal

Writer and producer: Kartik Chandramouli

Audio editor: Tejas Dayananda Sagar

Copy editor: Aditi Tandon

Additional voiceover: Hagen Desa

Podcast production assistant: Ayushi Kothari

GigaWhat cover art designer: Pooja Gupta