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Papers by roshan P rai

ReFrame , 2023

The IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2022) report states that some impacts o... more The IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2022) report states that some impacts of climate change are already “irreversible” and it has adversely affected the mental health of people. It is evident that the impacts of this global crisis are disproportionate across regions and communities, with disproportionate mental health impacts which cannot be ignored. There is an immediate need towards integrating mental health into climate justice with an understanding of the socio-ecological context of communities to address mental health consequences related to climate change.

This article aims to locate climate change and mental health in the Darjeeling Himalaya, based on our experience partnering with communities since 1996. In and through this narrative, we argue for an intersectional approach to understanding the socio-ecological context to develop community-based interventions and policies that promote climate resilience inclusive of mental well-being.

Integrated Mountain Initiative , 2023

The policy brief for improved Waste Management especially Plastic Waste Management in the Indian ... more The policy brief for improved Waste Management especially Plastic Waste
Management in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) was drafted by
Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) in partnership with UNEP’s project
“Promotion of Countermeasures against Marine Plastic Litter in Southeast
Asia and India (CounterMEASUREII). The brief is the recognition of the
fragility and socio-ecological importance of the IHR, the Himalayan waste
crisis and the need for policy and action that is mountain sensitive.
This policy brief is based on guiding principles that focuses on closing the
plastic tap; decentralised and people centric policy and action. It
recommends the recognition of the importance of mountains and its
fragility; reduction of waste; the eradication of single-use plastics;
technology that is suitable for mountains and actualizing segregation at
source with shared responsibility for waste amongst tourism stakeholders, religious and defence institutions. Investment in building capacity and leadership of stakeholders and implementing Extended Producer Responsibility that factors in mountain specificities as well as allocation of additional funds for mountain states.is stressed. Facilitation of interdepartmental, intersectoral coordination and adoption of a transboundary landscape approach in policy is recommended.

Himalaya the Journal of the Association For Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 2014

$Research paper thumbnail of Review of \u27Gorkhaland: Crisis of Statehood\u27 by Romit Bagchi$

Darjeeling Reconsidered, 2018

Darjeeling residents face regular water stress despite a high annual amount of rainfall and an ab... more Darjeeling residents face regular water stress despite a high annual amount of rainfall and an abundance of nearby springs and lakes. This chapter examines how the struggle for water manifests in the everyday lives of Darjeeling residents who come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and live in a range of geographical locations within the burgeoning tourist town. The text explains who is connected to municipal waters, who is not connected to them, and how a physical disconnection to municipal water supplies fosters abjection along with social affinities that can lead to productive adaptations. Emphasis is placed on how support systems, such as social collectives known as samaj, have begun to address the structural inadequacies of the municipal water supply system. These decentralized efforts are promising, but they also speak to the wider geographies of exclusion prevalent in Darjeeling—a town that is spatially marked by extreme contrasts between wealth and poverty.

Himalaya: The Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 2014

Himalaya: The Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 2016

Asian Studies Review, 2016

This paper attempts to critically analyse water stress citing rural and urban cases as means of unravelling the complexity of the issue.

Upper Lanku, rural Darjeeling depend on three main springs for their water. Anecdotal narratives express that all three springs have shown a declining trend in its discharge over the past 10 – 15 years. WWF-India conducted a study in 2013-14 and found that the major recharge zone lies under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department and has yet to grant permission for recharge interventions.

Darjeeling Municipality established in 1850 has a centralised water management infrastructure laid down between1910–30. The system originates in Senchel Wildlife Sanctuary, located 15 kilometres upstream of Darjeeling with two lakes and a storage of 33 million gallons of water that is recharged by 26 springs. This centralised system fails to acknowledge the vibrant 90 odd natural springs in the town that people are dependent upon. These urban springs have diverse community based management systems that have evolved over time and are now facing challenges of rapid urbanisation, market forces, upstream concretisation and contamination and reducing discharges.

Kalimpong Municipality in 2016 woke up to drilling of groundwater dividing the town sharply between for and against groups. The drilling brought about a host of issues of policy gaps, downstream and intergenerational equity, ownership and access as well as what is sustainable water management in an urban mountainscape.

These cases will be used to critically analyse gaps in National Water Policy 2012, Wetland Conservation Rules 2010, Groundwater extraction rules with a mountain lens and propose recommendations.

This case study examines the relationship between everyday religion and resource management by st... more This case study examines the relationship between everyday religion and resource management by studying water resources in Darjeeling, India. It uses the notion and practice of chokho pani (pure and/or sacred water) as an interface between popular religious practices and the attempt to conserve water in Darjeeling township. Although the link between religion and environmental resource management is widely recognized, it remains a critical area of inquiry in the Himalaya. The complexity of water’s social importance is vividly evident in Darjeeling. The town presents a rapidly urbanizing landscape with a diversity of peoples dependent upon a variety of water resources, making it an important Himalayan site for the study of religion and environment.
Keywords: everyday religion, Darjeeling, water, samaj (community institution)

Water crises are spreading across the length of South Asia at an alarming rate, and some of the p... more Water crises are spreading across the length of South Asia at an
alarming rate, and some of the pockets of stress include unexpected
locations such as Darjeeling, West Bengal, where rainfall is plentiful.
This article explores the problems of post-colonial water management
in the former British hill station to illuminate the prospects for
integrated resource provision. We argue that to improve the scope
of water distribution and provision, post-colonial townships such
as Darjeeling need to acknowledge and address the multiple ways
in which people get water from the centralised supply as well as
the decentralised solutions that have arisen through community
organisation in collectives known as samaj. Notably, the samaj have a
distinct character based on histories of colonial neglect that prompted
villages throughout the Darjeeling region to solve socioeconomic
problems independently of centralised systems. The discussion
overlaps the numerous resource pathways with the plethora of
social and political organisations operating in Darjeeling to argue
that municipalities would do well to harness the varied ways in which
water flows through the township. Integrated within larger questions
of sustainable development in India’s urbanising townships, the text
offers a glimpse into the possibilities for more holistic and equitable
water management.

Books by roshan P rai

“Darjeeling Tea” as a global brand brings attention to the Darjeeling District and creates a glob... more “Darjeeling Tea” as a global brand brings attention to the Darjeeling District and creates a global imaginary which obliterates the dark colonial history, existing exploitation of the workers and the natural resources of the region. The global brand name is protected under the certification trademarks which has a geographical indication. Thus only tea from the 87 tea plantations can be called Darjeeling Tea. There is an increasing trend towards Darjeeling Tea going organic and fairtrade. This trend is critiqued with questions of how green and fair can a monoculture plantation get. Within this imaginary, small farmers’ tea offers an alternative paradigm based on equity and diversity. This paper explores the alternative by highlighting the journey of a small farmers collective Mineral Spring Sanjukta Vikash Sanstha.

Online Publications, Reviews, Reports and Letters by roshan P rai

The Darjeeling Chronicle, 2019

The Dumping Chute in Darjeeling has been burning off and on for at least the past 10 years. The ... more The Dumping Chute in Darjeeling has been burning off and on for at least the past 10 years. The implications of the chute burning, where our unsegregated waste is dumped is that the air we breathe in Darjeeling is toxic. This is instant karma of Kaliyug for the year long dumping of our waste downhill contaminating water and soil of people living downstream. There is need to relook at how we imagine waste in Darjeeling and create a road map of sustainability where no waste reaches the Dumping Chute.

Conference Presentations by roshan P rai

Plastic pollution has become one of the most challenging problems that the world is facing curren... more Plastic pollution has become one of the most challenging problems that the world is facing currently.In the mountainous Indian Himalayan Region(comprising of 12 states), managing plastic waste has
become extremely challenging as the volume of plastics that is being used has grown enormously in the past 10 years. With rapidly changing lifestyles, changes in packaging and consumption patterns, and an
ever increasing tourist footfall, the waste profile has undergone significant change with more and more plastics, especially single use and multilayered plastics being used and thrown at alarming rates. Dumping of all waste in waterways or jhoras and rolling down hillsides have been the most preferred and convenient way for disposing waste in the mountain states and now is full of plastics. This includes the
municipality, community or the individual resulting in environmental injustice for communities living downstream. Apart from this, burning of waste is also widely practiced all across the mountains resulting
in toxic air and residual pollution. Thus there is an urgent need to Redefining Swachh to go beyond the brooms, dustbins, burning,
landfilling and rolling it down the hill narrative to reduction of single use plastic and the load on landfills systematically. There is also a need to design sustainability in products and packaging as a long term
strategy of waste management.