Dehing Patkai Under Threat: How The Rainforest of Assam Stands on the Edge of Ecological Collapse?

Dehing Patkai on the Brink: How Coal Mining and Climate Chaos Are Devastating Assam’s Lowland Rainforest and Shattering Eastern Himalayan Climate Justice?

PAHARI BARUAH

In the lush, mist-shrouded foothills of Upper Assam, where the mighty Brahmaputra’s tributaries carve through emerald canopies, Dehing Patkai National Park stands as one of India’s most precious remaining lowland rainforests. Often called the “Amazon of the East,” this irreplaceable ecological treasure in the Eastern Himalayas is now teetering on the edge of collapse. What was once a sanctuary of ancient biodiversity and indigenous heritage is increasingly besieged by coal mining, illegal extraction, and the relentless fury of climate change-exacerbating floods, habitat fragmentation, and cultural erosion in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

This is not just an environmental tragedy unfolding in remote Assam. It is a stark indictment of climate injustice: the poorest and most marginalized communities in the Eastern Himalayas-those least responsible for global emissions-are paying the heaviest price for a crisis fueled by distant fossil fuel economies. While the world debates carbon budgets, Dehing Patkai’s indigenous guardians and the fragile rainforest that sustains the Brahmaputra basin face existential threats.

The Fragile Heart of Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Under Siege

Dehing Patkai National Park (upgraded from wildlife sanctuary status) spans approximately 231 sq km as a core protected area within the larger Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve and rainforest landscape exceeding 900 sq km when including adjoining reserve forests. It represents one of the last intact stretches of tropical lowland rainforest in Assam’s Upper Brahmaputra Valley, a critical biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas.

This living archive pulses with extraordinary life:

• Nearly 50 mammal species, including the endangered Asian elephant, gaur, Hoolock gibbon (Indian sub-continent’s only ape), Malayan sun bear, clouded leopard, marbled cat, and Chinese pangolin.
• Around 293–300 bird species, such as the rare white-winged wood duck (Assam’s state bird), rufous-necked hornbill, grey peacock-pheasant, and various eagles and adjutant storks.
• Over 47 reptile species, dozens of amphibians, and a staggering 310–350 butterfly species.
• More than 60 tree species forming a multi-layered canopy, plus over 100 varieties of orchids and countless medicinal plants.

These ecosystems act as vital carbon sinks and regulators of the regional hydrological cycle. Yet, even small disruptions-like the proposed or ongoing coal mining in patches of Saleki Proposed Reserve Forest and nearby areas (historically around 98.59 hectares, with significant portions already “broken” by past illegal activities)-trigger cascading devastation through habitat fragmentation, altered microclimates, and heightened human-wildlife conflict.

Coal Mining: Legalization of Destruction in the Name of “Development”

At the core of the crisis remains Coal India Limited’s (North Eastern Coalfields) push for opencast coal mining in ecologically sensitive zones adjacent to and within the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve. Proposals dating back years targeted areas like Tikok and Tirap, with conditional clearances granted despite evidence of years of illegal rat-hole and opencast mining. As recently as 2025–2026, reports highlight resurging illegal activities, court warnings to the Assam government for inaction, and ongoing proposals for further forest diversion (e.g., 40+ hectares in Tirap OCP).

To many policymakers, a few dozen or hundred hectares may seem “negligible” in a vast landscape. But rainforests are intricate, interconnected webs. Mining causes:

• Soil erosion and heavy metal contamination of rivers feeding the Brahmaputra.
• Noise, dust, and light pollution disrupting nocturnal and migratory species.
• Fragmentation of elephant corridors, intensifying conflicts with tea gardens and indigenous villages.

Local testimonies and activist reports have long documented unregulated mining predating formal clearances. Instead of robust enforcement, processes often appear to legitimize prior violations. Gauhati High Court interventions in recent years have repeatedly questioned the state’s slow response to illegal coal extraction, underscoring governance failures.

Climate Change Amplifies the Assault: Eastern Himalayas in Peril

Dehing Patkai does not exist in isolation. It is profoundly entangled with the climate emergency gripping the Eastern Himalayas and Assam. The region is one of India’s-and the world’s-most vulnerable hotspots. Glacial melt in the Eastern Himalayas, accelerated warming, and erratic monsoons are transforming the Brahmaputra basin.

Key impacts include:

• Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall: Assam has seen prolonged heat waves, intensified monsoon extremes, and shifting precipitation patterns. Himalayan glaciers feeding the Brahmaputra are retreating rapidly, initially causing more intense floods followed by long-term water stress.
• Devastating floods: Climate-driven glacial lake outburst risks (GLOFs), combined with heavier downpours, have worsened annual inundations in the Brahmaputra Valley. Deforestation and mining in upstream areas like Dehing Patkai reduce the forest’s natural flood-buffering capacity, leading to greater downstream destruction in Assam’s chars (river islands), agriculture, and settlements.
• Biodiversity and ecosystem collapse: Species like the white-winged wood duck already face habitat threats from changing rainfall and forest degradation. Warmer conditions favor invasive species and disease vectors while stressing endemic orchids and canopy trees.

Assam lost hundreds of thousands of hectares of tree cover in recent decades, releasing massive CO₂ while diminishing the region’s resilience. The Eastern Himalayan rainforests like Dehing Patkai are critical “third pole” buffers—yet they are being undermined precisely when their protective role is most needed.

Climate Justice Denied: Indigenous Voices at the Frontlines

The human cost strikes deepest among Assam’s indigenous communities-Tai Phake, Singpho, Khampti, Moran, Motok, and others-whose lives, identities, and traditional knowledge systems are inseparable from the forest. For these groups, Dehing Patkai is not “resources” to exploit; it is sacred homeland, source of food, medicine, culture, and spiritual sustenance.

Mining and climate impacts have already displaced families, polluted water sources, increased human-elephant conflicts, and eroded traditional livelihoods. Women and children bear disproportionate burdens-losing access to forest produce, facing health risks from contaminated environments, and navigating heightened disaster vulnerability.

This is classic climate injustice: Global North and urban industrial emissions drive Himalayan warming and erratic weather, while extractive projects like coal mining in Dehing Patkai-often justified as “local development”-further marginalize communities with minimal historical emissions responsibility. Loss and damage remain inadequately addressed, with calls for climate finance, just transitions away from coal, and recognition of indigenous rights growing louder across Northeast India.

Deforestation’s Deadly Chain Reaction

Mining opens the floodgates to a vicious cycle:

Mining → Forest Fragmentation → Species Decline & Carbon Release → Weakened Climate Resilience → Intensified Floods & Erosion → Greater Vulnerability for Indigenous Communities.

This flowchart is no abstraction in Assam. Degraded forests absorb less water and CO₂, worsening both local flash floods and global warming feedback loops. In the Eastern Himalayas, where topography amplifies every change, the stakes could not be higher.

A Turning Point for Hope and Urgent Action

Dehing Patkai does not need romantic labels to prove its worth-it is intrinsically vital as a biodiversity ark, carbon guardian, watershed protector, and cultural lifeline in the climate-stressed Eastern Himalayas.

Real solutions demand climate justice-centered approaches:

• Immediate halt to new mining clearances and rigorous enforcement against illegal operations.
• Strengthened protection for the full Dehing Patkai landscape, with community co-management recognizing indigenous rights.
• Just transition programs supporting affected families through sustainable livelihoods rooted in eco-tourism, agroforestry, and traditional knowledge.
• Ambitious reforestation using native species and restoration of elephant corridors.
• National and global advocacy for loss-and-damage funding directed to frontline Northeast communities.
• Integration of Dehing Patkai’s protection into Assam’s and India’s updated climate action plans, emphasizing Eastern Himalayan vulnerabilities.

The silence that once surrounded Dehing Patkai must end. In an era of digital amplification, this story deserves global urgency-alongside the Amazon, Congo, and other rainforests. Influencers, policymakers, youth, and citizens must bridge awareness to sustained action.

What happens to Dehing Patkai will echo across the Brahmaputra basin, the Eastern Himalayas, and beyond. Will we allow short-term extraction to doom long-term survival? Or will we champion a future where forests, indigenous wisdom, and climate resilience triumph?

The emerald heart of Upper Assam is calling. The time for decisive, justice-driven protection is now-before Indian sub-continent’s last lowland rainforest slips irreversibly into ecological collapse.

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