Listening to the Climate: Community Radio as a Catalyst for Environmental Action in the Indian Himalayas

Tucked into the hills and valleys of Uttarakhand, community radio – defined as a low-cost, non-profit broadcasting platform run by and for local communities – is emerging as a critical tool in communicating climate change and fostering environmental awareness in the fragile Himalayan region. These stations, Henvalvani Community Radio (90.4 FM) in Tehri Garhwal, Mandakini Ki Aawaz (90.8 FM) in Rudraprayag, and Kumaon Vani community radio station (90.4 FM) in Nainital are not just echo chambers for community issues. They are knowledge systems in their own right, offering hyperlocal insights into glacial retreat, forest degradation, water scarcity, and erratic weather. This grassroots model of communication is not about technology alone, but about trust, relevance, and deep-rooted community engagement.

Localising Climate Science

Community radio excels at translating climate science into everyday language. When scientific reports speak of temperature anomalies or altered precipitation cycles, these stations break it down into relatable observations: the shortening of apple seasons, delayed monsoons, dried-up water sources. Manvendra from Mandakini ki Aawaz shares, “Our programmes on forest loss and glacier melt are grounded in what villagers see and sense, less snowfall, dying springs, more landslides.”

These are not abstract discussions. They reflect a living archive of environmental change, broadcast in local dialects, interwoven with folk wisdom, and often guided by listeners’ concerns. Community radio becomes both a witness and a warning system, fostering awareness while enabling communities to adapt.

Moreover, these broadcasts create a collective environmental vocabulary that builds climate literacy over time. Discussions are repeated across seasons and interspersed with voices of local elders, schoolchildren, and frontline workers, deepening familiarity with environmental risks. As climate science evolves, so do the formats, from monologues to phone-in shows, from field recordings to story-based formats that link changing weather to shifting agricultural practices. In doing so, community radio shapes not just what people know about the climate, but how they come to know it and share that understanding with others.

Early Warning, Real-Time Relief

When flash floods or cloudbursts strike the Garhwal Himalayas, formal alerts often arrive too late or fail to reach isolated hamlets. Community radio fills that gap. During the Rudraprayag floods, Mandakini ki Aawaz swiftly activated public service bulletins, shared evacuation routes, connected NGOs to affected families, and corrected misinformation circulating through social media.

Because these stations operate with local volunteers and maintain deep community trust, their role in crisis communication is immediate and impactful. As Manvendra recalls, “We didn’t wait for top-down instructions. We opened our lines and let people report what they needed.”

Forest Fires and Local Preparedness

Uttarakhand has seen a disturbing rise in forest fires linked to rising temperatures, dry spells, and the spread of pine monocultures. While mainstream coverage spikes only during disasters, community radio stations sustain year-round programming on forest fire preparedness. At Henvalvani, volunteers have produced audio toolkits on fire lines, water management, and community patrols. Rajendra Diggal notes, “We invite forest guards, panchayat leaders, and women’s groups to discuss what can be done. The idea is not just to inform, but to involve.” This model of anticipatory communication, where climate threats are treated as ongoing, not episodic, makes these stations indispensable to environmental governance.

Reframing the Ecological Narrative

Mainstream environmental discourse often sidelines Himalayan perspectives or homogenises them under the label of ‘fragile ecosystems’. Community radio reframes that narrative. It amplifies the lived experience of ecological disruption: not just melting glaciers, but the anxiety of farmers unable to predict sowing times; not just water scarcity, but the revival of traditional springs through community effort.

In one series on Kumaon Vani, listeners shared first-hand accounts of changing wind patterns, disappearing bird species, and invasive weeds disrupting farming cycles. These stories, when archived and serialised, create what might be called as “vernacular environmental memory,” essential for policy, research, and grassroots planning.

Towards Environmental Citizenship

Beyond awareness, these stations are cultivating what could be termed environmental citizenship. That is, a sense of responsibility, voice, and participation in climate governance. When youth anchor shows on glacial lakes, when women moderate discussions on water conservation, when farmers call in to report unusual pest outbreaks, they are not just consumers of media. They are shaping the contours of environmental debate.

In this process, community radio shifts from being a medium of communication to a medium of co-existence with the land, the climate, and each other.

Conclusion

Despite their proven value, these stations remain under-resourced and excluded from state climate planning. Integrating them into district-level disaster management protocols, climate education curricula, and environmental data collection could radically improve resilience efforts. As climate change intensifies, especially in ecologically sensitive zones like the Indian Himalayas, community radio’s role in environmental communication deserves greater institutional support. These are not merely information channels; they are sounding boards for survival.

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About the Author: Dr Aniruddha Jena is a “Stories of Hope” Fellow by IUCN India under Himalayas for Future and Assistant Professor of Communications at Indian Institute of Management Kashipur. He can be contacted at [email protected] and is on X @AniruddhaJena.
Acknowledgement: The author acknowledges the support of the IUCN India and this commentary is an outcome of the “Stories of Hope” Fellowship by IUCN India under Himalayas for Future.