The 'quiet revolution' inspired by Delhi's urban wildlife

In her upcoming book, My Wild City: Finding Nature, Meaning, and Hope in India's Capital, conservation biologist Neha Sinha takes readers to the hidden and not-so-hidden ecosystems of India's largest city. And while the book expertly details the biodiversity, I believe its greatest strength lies in connecting with the reader emotionally through powerful stories from her personal life. On this week's episode of the Mongabay Newscast, Sinha explains why nature in cities isn't just important from an ecosystem health perspective, but necessary for the emotional life of all people.

Sinha describes the difficulty of caring for her ailing father, and how this was the moment she found her favorite tree. While waiting in the hospital, she spotted a semal tree (Bombax ceiba). She tells me this was a turning point for her.

"In these kind of difficult situations which are physically and mentally challenging … you look at a tree, and it restores you. It kind of makes you feel that you might have strength that you didn't know about. And it's also unique to see a tree in a very urban environment because the tree itself is a survivor," she says.

Readers already enamored with nature will find much about My Wild City that will resonate with them. And people in positions of authority tasked with protecting these ecosystems may find insight here that could alter their perspective. Sinha tells me in our conversation that the urgency to care for nature has not yet taken hold in the politics of India, but that it has in the everyday person, pointing to the rise in popularity of urban hiking and bird-watching in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I can tell you for sure, there hasn't been a better time for citizens to be engaged and involved in nature. And in many ways, it's actually urban wildlife that has done that," she says, "and I think that's what has started this quiet revolution of documenting the natural world."

My Wild City is already released in India under the title Wild Capital: Discovering Nature in Delhi. For readers outside India, you can preorder a copy here.

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Mike DiGirolamo is the host & producer for the Mongabay Newscast based in Sydney. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Cover image: A parakeet in the Delhi ridge. Photo by Neha Sinha.

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Time codes

(00:00) Trees are more than a name

(11:13) Protected spaces and restorative attention

(18:29) Meaning in hard times

(22:37) Loss of the fireflies

(27:56) Where dolphins once swam

(34:12) The quiet revolution

(37:42) When a tree tunnels into your life

(42:25) Decolonization is also recognizing native biodiversity

(47:52) 'The justice we give ourselves'